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Hello Class! My name is Professor Tina Austin and I am trying something new this term.  Let's discover Padlet together during our Week 1 Introductions.  I will start here by answering the Week 1 Discussion question.

Brief intro:  I am Professor Austin and I have worked at JWU for 5 years.  My day job is Online Instructional Technology Team Lead and I am an Adjunct Professor at night.  I have lots of experience being a leader both in the military and as a civilian working in Higher Ed.
The most important Leadership decision I made was leaving the military.  I had plans to retire from civil service after I got out of the Air Force, but my father grew ill and I chose to leave civil service to come back home and take care of him.  It allowed me to improve my relationship with him and see him off as he left this world.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done im my life and it has changed me in a way I could never fully explain. It taught me how to balance my priorities in life and focus on the important things. My lesson was that family comes first, no matter what!

Now it's your turn!  Click on the pink circle with a plus in the middle to add your own personal introduction. Then respond to two of your classmates by adding comments at the bottom of their posts.  Feel free to add pictures (appropriate pictures only), so that we can see each other. I am looking forward to meeting you all.

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Hi class, my name is CHENG-CHUAN CHANG, and I am an international student. i am from Taiwan. Currently living in the providence, and then I hope i can enjoy this class, learn many value thing in this class.

now i am majoring business, so i really want to learn more leadership skill cause it is really important for me,

for this term, I am  coming back my home country  to meet my parents and my friends so i will spent three days a week  to study my online class and I hope i can enjoy this class with you guys thank you

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Hi everyone! My name is Fern Chutichaowakul and I'm from Thailand. I'm currently doing my bachelor degree at Miami campus.

Leadership is an important matter as we make decisions and even helps others make decision everyday in life.

I've always had to make a decision for myself ever since I was young due to my parent's parenting style. To be able to choose for yourself is a kind of freedom that some is restricted from. Therefore, I feel lucky to be able to draw my own future and choose my own path.

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Hi everyone ! My name is Mikaela and I am from NY but born and raised in Jamaica. I am finishing up my Bachelor degree at the providence campus. I am majoring in Counseling Psychology.

The most important leadership decision I have made so far in my life was becoming an OTEAM (orientation team) leader for the Johnson and Wales. It consisted of mentoring and building relationships with faculty and new students.

What I have learned about myself is that I love to help other people succeed. I also really love mentoring others and allowing them to voice their opinions and ideas so that we can work together and get on the right track.

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Hey class! My name is Matea and I'm from Massachusetts but born and raised in Macedonia. It's a small country in Europe, right above Greece. I am currently finishing up my bachelors degree at the JWU Providence campus. I am a criminal justice major.

I believe that being a leader is better than being a follower. I hope to gain some knowledge on how to become a better leader for my community! This class will be very beneficial for my career in the criminal justice field.

At 9 years old, I moved to this country not knowing any English. Since my move, I've had to make big decisions for myself and my family. I have learned that I really like being able to help people in any way I can which is why I decided to major in criminal justice.

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Hi everyone! My name is Chelsea Dufault and I am a sophomore studying Psychology. I have lived in Rhode Island my whole life! I plan on getting my masters degree in Counseling Psychology and one day I want to open up my own private practice.

A leadership decision I have made is taking a job as a student employee in the office of alumni relations. Over the summer I will be helping parents at orientation feel more comfortable about their kids entering college by answering their questions as a student.

I love helping other people which is why I want to be a mental health counselor. I lead by example and I try to be available for others when needed.

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Hi everyone! My name is Natalie Rivas and I am from New Jersey. I am a Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management major at the Providence campus. I am getting my bachelors degree. I am hoping to find a job in the professional sports industry. This course will be really beneficial to me in my future career in the sports industry. I hope that I can become a better leader on and off the field through this course ( I am on the field hockey team at the university).                                     One important leadership decision that I have made in my life is deciding to finish college in three years instead of four years. At first, I did not really want to finish college in three years, because then I would miss out on the full college experience and miss my fourth year of playing field hockey. However, I really thought about it and realized how helpful finishing college could be in three years. The faster I can enter the sports industry and get a full-time job. The less debt my parents and I will be in the future. I thought that the pros outweighed the cons in the long-run and in my best interest.                                                  Through this decision, I learned how hard of a worker I am and that I am really good at time management. I realized that taking five classes a trimester is doable for me. I am doing what is best for myself but also my parents because I really want to help them out with dealing with college debt. I really love to help people and have other people in mind when I make important decisions/choices. 

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Hi everyone! My name is Natalie Rivas and I am from New Jersey. I am a Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management major at the Providence campus. I am getting my bachelors degree. I am hoping to find a job in the professional sports industry. This course will be really beneficial to me in my future career in the sports industry. I hope that I can become a better leader on and off the field through this course ( I am on the field hockey team at the university).                                     One important leadership decision that I have made in my life is deciding to finish college in three years instead of four years. At first, I did not really want to finish college in three years, because then I would miss out on the full college experience and miss my fourth year of playing field hockey. However, I really thought about it and realized how helpful finishing college could be in three years. The faster I can enter the sports industry and get a full-time job. The less debt my parents and I will be in the future. I thought that the pros outweighed the cons in the long-run and in my best interest.                                                  Through this decision, I learned how hard of a worker I am and that I am really good at time management. I realized that taking five classes a trimester is doable for me. I am doing what is best for myself but also my parents because I really want to help them out with dealing with college debt. I really love to help people and have other people in mind when I make important decisions/choices. 

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Hello,
My name is Cora Dempsey I am a sophomore Culinary Arts major at the Providence Campus, I am from Charlottesville, Virginia but I am living in prov for the summer to work on campus and at a restaurant downtown.

I think that the most important leadership decision that I have made is the decision to go to school at JWU in RI. I didn't have a ton of support from my family to move away and go to JWU but I think it was the right decision and I was thinking about how I could benefit and not thinking about other peoples opinions of what I was doing, which was good.

Through this decision I learned that I am strong and can be independent and take control of my own life.

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It wouldn't allow me to post the picture with my post, therefore I posted it separately.

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Hello my Peers,

My name is Breana Nieves. I just finished graduating JWU at the North Miami campus in three years with my Bachelor's of Science in Criminal Justice. I am from Belleville, New Jersey. I now plan on getting my Masters and joining the Police Academy.

The most important leadership decision I have made for myself was deciding to stay in Miami by myself while my entire family still lives in New Jersey.  I live on my own and I work full-time at the Hard Rock. i decided it was time leave the nest, and pursue my dreams

By making this decision, I have learned that I am an independent woman who is ready to take on any obstacle life throws at me. I am in control of what I want to achieve in life and nothing can stop me.

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Courtney Morgan
Hello classmates!
My name is Courtney Morgan. I am a Criminal Justice major. This is my last term before i graduate with my Bachelors and afterwards I will attend med school.
Some important leadership decisions I have made are mostly in two places, one is in my career, I had to take role of where and what i wanted to do so I went to college and is obtaining my Bachelors degree. Another one is in my job, I decided to step up and take role of a shift lead. It is basically a manager position to help close and open the restaurant.
By making these choices, it has lead to many open doors and opportunities for myself.  I took this class because I wanted to learn more about this subject and the content of it.
Thanks,
Courtney Morgan

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Hi Everyone!
My name is Paris Smith and I am a Senior at the North Miami Campus. This is my last trimester and I will be graduating with my BS in 3 years. I am from Brooklyn New York and I plan on living here in Miami for the next 2 years. I am a business administration major and after I graduate I plan on going for an MBA with a concentration in Finance.

The most important leadership decision I had to make was my freshman year of college at Clark Atlanta University. I decided to change my major from Psychology to Business and transfer to Johnson & Wales University. This was a major decision for me because I was officially going to be on my own, in Georgia I had my grandma and multiple other relatives. By making this decision I learned that I am more independent than I thought, being here in Florida alone, I realized that although family is very important to me I can survive on my own also. I have been able to focus on myself and my education.

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Hey everyone!

Im Nicole Russell, I'm from Jersey but attend the Providence campus.

Im studying Sports Entertainment & Event MGMT and just finished an Internship with Live Nation in NYC as an event producer with their Media & Sponsorship team and was hired as a Free Lance Producer for the Governors Ball Music Festival that just took place this past weekend.

Throughout my time with Live Nation these past three months, i have learned so much about leadership, what it really means to be a leader and to work as a team to achieve the end goal. I learned how important it was to trust the people you work with, and to trust their ideas and how they work and that in the end, the goal will get achieved.

Im excited to learn more about being a leader and how to apply that to my life going forward.

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My name is Chao Liang Kuo, but my friends call me Leo. I come from Taiwan, and this is going to be my Junior year in Johnson & Wales University studying Hotel and Lodging Management. And this is my first online course. I think my most important leadership decision is to come to American by myself to high school and college because it helps me learn English, meet different people, and give me a bigger world view. And this decision help me go through any problems with calm and better ways. Also, it makes me more mature and has my own though and plan.

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My name is Chao Liang Kuo, but my friends call me Leo. I come from Taiwan, and this is going to be my Junior year in Johnson & Wales University studying Hotel and Lodging Management. And this is my first online course. I think my most important leadership decision is to come to American by myself to high school and college because it helps me learn English, meet different people, and give me a bigger world view. And this decision help me go through any problems with calm and better ways. Also, it makes me more mature and has my own though and plan.

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Hi Everyone!
My name is Ariana Fontaine and I am from a small town in Massachusetts. I am a senior at Johnson & Wales studying Sports, Entertainment and Event Management at the Providence campus. This is my first online class and my third year at the university. I have three jobs in the event Industry and I am excited to learn more about leadership and how I can continue to apply my education into my career.

I think that the most important leadership decision that I have made for myself was through my decision to go to Johnson & Wales University, as a senior in high school. Through my college decision days’, I didn’t have much support in my decision to come to Johnson & Wales. Several of my family members were doubting my career choice and were unsure if I was making the right decision.

Through this experience I have learned that I can conquer anything that I put my mind to. I am now going to be a 3 year graduate from a university with a degree in a career that I love. By sticking to my decision, I have allowed myself to receive amazing opportunities through the university, that has helped me to continue to learn and grow in my career.

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Hey everyone!
My name is Joe ConcannonI am from Weymouth, Massachusetts. I attend the Providence Johnson & Wales campus and am studying Criminal Justice. I am looking to use my degree to help further my chances of becoming a police officer one day. In addition, I currently work part time at Chipotle and am a huge Boston sports fan.

One of the most important leadership decisions I have made in my life was probably accepting the role as cross country captain my senior year of high school. I had a lot of responsibility to keep my team disciplined and motivated to work hard each practice and race. It was a very rewarding opportunity and I believe that taking on that role has made me a more confident and strong willed individual than I was before.

From making this decision I learned that taking on a leadership role can be very rewarding. In my case it was rewarding to see my team win our league championship through my leadership. In addition, I learned that it is not always easy taking on a leadership role and there are many obstacles you must overcome along the way. Overall, I believe deciding to take on the role made me a better person and I look forward to hopefully taking on more leadership positions in the future.

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Hi class,

My name is Lukas Levin and I live in Johnstown New York. This is my last term at Johnson & Wales University. My major is Graphic Design & Digital Media.

I would say the most important leadership decision I have made thus far is graduating college a year early. I am a part of the S.H.A.R.P program at JWU. A lot of people were telling me not to rush through college and take it all in. I decided to stick with my gut though and do it anyways. Times have changed, a lot of the people who told me not to rush were much older. Colleges have gotten very expensive. Graduating a year early saved me nearly $40,000. I believe this will end up being a good decision and reflect positively on the rest of my life.

What I learned about this decision is sometimes you will never know if it was right or wrong. You have to do everything you can after making the decision to the right choice.

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Hello everyone my name is Nicolas Gomez I am a student at the JWU campus at north Miami. I was born in bogota colombia, but i grew here in south florida. I am on the Men soccer team here at JWU in north miami. One important leadership decision i took this year is that asked by my coach if i wanted to captain the team I was very unsure and hesitate on taking this role only as a sophomore. My coach had told her saw lots of leadership qualities in me so i thought I would be the perfect fit for the job. In the process i learned a lot about taking action when it is needed. Almost like stepping up to the plate when no one wants to. I also gained lost of confidence in myself to try to face new challenges head on. From taking this role I gained a very good leadership quality and I can’t wait to take into the real world.

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d say the most important leadership decision I have made thus far is graduating college a year early. I am a part of the S.H.A.R.P program at JWU. A lot of people were telling me not to rush through college and take it all in. I decided to stick with my gut though and do it anyways. Times have changed, a lot of the people who told me not to rush were much older. College has gotten very expensive. Graduating a year early saved me nearly $40,000.  This decision 

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Hello! My name is Crystal Collins and I am an incoming sophomore at JWU Providence Campus.I'm from the state of Ohio and I am currently studying to be a Pastry Chef in the Baking & Pastry Arts program.

I would say the biggest leadership decision I made was continuing my education by going to college and to keep on living after the passing of my father from bone cancer. It was a hard decision leaving my mom, since I am an only child to study at Johnson & Wales all the way in Providence, RI, which is about a 13 hour drive from Ohio. My determination to be the best I can be and to follow my dreams in this one life I have was quite a big step. My passion for being a successful Pastry Chef helped me keep on being strong and to always do my best in everything that I do in order to meet my goal.

By making this big step, I have learned that even though I am far from my mom and have had this terrible thing happen to me, my determination and will to do the best I can and live my best life can help me get through anything that may throw itself at me.

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Hello, my name is Bethany Ingram and I am a rising junior and Sports, Entertainment, Event Management Major with an Environmental Sustainability minor. I am from Baltimore, Maryland but attend the Providence campus during the year and am also on the women’s rowing team along with a few other organizations!

Though I have had many leadership roles throughout my life, I feel that I developed my leadership the most through one decision this past year. I have chosen to not sit in silence when it comes to my beliefs. I had always grown up with the fear that one thing I say will ruin my chance at a future, but this year I have learned that it is worse to sit in silence than to maturely and respectively express how I feel. This is regarding my feelings, my opinions and my political viewpoints. I want to make a positive difference in the world the best way I know how, and I knew I could not fulfill my potential by sitting in silence.

I have learned that I have become more educated and stand by what I believe in, verses letting someone sway me easily. I am very proud of myself for being able to stand up for what I believe in and for making positive change in the world. I feel more confident and therefore can represent what I believe in more confidently. I humbly accepted 2018/2019 Student Leader of the Year and I truly believe my development through this skill helped me follow my passion of making a positive impact on those around me and I strive to continue to develop my leadership even more throughout this course!

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Hello, my name is Arianna Becerra, I am a senior at the Providence campus majoring in Food Service Management. I am from California, and love to cook, the beach, movies, and makeup.
One major leadership decision I've made has been deciding to finish my classes online and moving back from Providence back to California. For myself, this was a major decision that affected many aspects of my life such as family, friends, work, and my education. I felt the need to be surrounded by my family for the last few months before I obtain my degree, especially so I can try to find a job near them to set down some roots.
Throughout this decision I've realized that making this choice wasn't going to be an easy one, but it was a decision that felt necessary. I feel that this decision will help me in the long run more than anything, since I'll be around my family and can start looking for a way to start my career a bit earlier than anticipated.

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Hello everyone, my name is Jillian Harrold and I am from Massachusetts. I am finishing my bachelor's degree in Marketing at the Providence campus.
Joining the national award-winning Johnson & Wales Advertising Team at the Providence campus was a huge leadership decision I made my sophomore year of college. The way the team is run is that we work in small units overseen by a senior member of the team and that senior member is overseen by our advisors. When I became a senior member of the team I worked in one of these units. I taught freshman and sophomores how to research properly and overseeing any work they completed.
By joining Ad Team I created a huge opportunity for myself to observe other’s leadership styles and start to develop what kind of leader I myself wanted to be. When it was my first year on the team I took every opportunity to take in how others approached problems versus how I looked at problems.  The was the start of me experimenting with my professional image. This was a huge step for me in my leadership skills and my career.

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My name is Jonathon Dailey, I am from Indiana, the Hoosier State. Or what I call, cornfields state. I am a Freshman, studying Entrepreneurship, and catching up on a missed term. I will be going back to the Miami campus in September.

By far the biggest decision I made was leaving home in the “Corn Field” state of Indiana and moving to Miami. As in my actual words to my parents. “I am tired of the cold; I am tired of the weeks upon weeks of rain. And the snow just doesn’t stop so I am moving to Florida.”

I learned that warmer states are more likely my place to be. As I am more of an outdoor type of person nowadays. And I am a green thumb no doubt. Let me put a gigantic flower bed in your backyard, please. I don’t mind getting sweaty and filthy, unlike my younger self. And I usually have a farmer’s tan going on in the middle of winter when I was living in Indiana.

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Hi everyone! My name is Marie Saine and I have somewhat completed my undergraduate studies. I had walked the stage On May 18, however I had some electives left over needed to be completed. I major in Business Administration over at the Providence campus  I'm twenty one years old and I am from Woonsocket RI.

The most important leadership decision I had to make was when I decided to transfer to Johnson and Wales. I wanted to better my education as the other institution I was at was felt like high school all over again. My choice to switch was smart because they shutdown the school a year after and I enjoy my courses and Professors. I learned that I am not afraid of change and willing to initiate the change if need be.